Starting strong. Outlander star Sam Heughan can’t wait for fans to see the exciting season 7 premiere, the Scotland native exclusively told Us Weekly.
“We pick up shortly after with the end of last season, which is a great cliffhanger,” the actor, 42, said while chatting with Us on Wednesday, June 1, about his participation in The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in support of Movember (the global men’s health organization which raises awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, men’s mental health and suicide prevention).
The sixth season of Outlander ended last month with Claire (Caitríona Balfe) being arrested for murder, and Jamie (Heughan) has to find her while the Revolutionary War is officially underway. “America really is in sort of turmoil. There’s revolution, and Jamie and Claire are separated,” the Men in Kilts star teased. “There’s also the prophecy of Jamie and Claire’s death, you know, that they’re supposed to die in a fire. There’s just so much going on.”
Luckily, there will be even more episodes than usual to unpack all of that drama. Between COVID-19 protocols and Balfe’s maternity leave (she and husband Tony McGill welcomed a baby boy in August 2021), season 6 was shorted to just eight episodes. The four remaining installments were added to Outlander season 7, giving the Starz series a 16-episode season.
“This really is super-sized season,” Heughan explained. “We really start off with a bang. The first couple episodes are really strong, and that’s as far as we’ve got shooting-wise. But I know there’s so much that we are still about to get to. Not only that you’ve got a lot of new characters coming in or characters that I think are anticipated by fans — including, of course, Jamie Fraser’s son — but a bunch of new characters as well.”
William Ransom hasn’t been seen since he was a child, but season 7 will introduce Jamie’s estranged son as a man, played by actor Charles Vandervaart, who is already having fun alongside Heughan.
“Charles does a pretty decent job. I have to say, he’s a very good looking boy. Too good looking. I tried to get him sacked on his first day, but no luck,” the Clanlands author joked.
He knows Charles is likely to get the same support he gets from the Outlander fandom. The viewers support Heughan’s many projects, including his various philanthropy efforts. When Heughan announced he was participating in The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride last month, his fan base immediately mobilized, raising over $56,000 for Movember — despite only learning about the actor’s participation less than a week before the event.
The Spy Who Dumped Me star gushed about his generous supporters while speaking to Us on World Outlander Day, which falls on June 1 every year to mark the anniversary of Diana Gabaldon‘s first novel in the historical series hitting shelves.
“On World Outlander Day, I’d like to thank all of our fans for their support,” Heughan exclusively told Us. “Honestly, it’s been overwhelming, and they continue to surprise us. And then I think this support of the [Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride] is just case in point.”
The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama alum explained that he only had to put out a simple tweet before donations started rolling in. “I hadn’t even put it on my other social yet, and my inbox was flooded from messages from the donations page, and it hasn’t stopped,” he raved. “So I’d like to like thank everyone that’s supported this great cause. It was a lot of fun to partake in, but also really important ’cause of the work that Movember is doing. So thanks to them.”
He concluded, “To the fans, please, please keep enjoying the show, and you’ve got a lot of bingeing to do before we get back to the new season — but the Droughtlander will be over. I promise.” Starz has not announced a premiere date for season 7 yet.
Scroll down for more photos of the Outlander star at the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride:
